Absorbent articles having stretchable chassis

Abstract

An absorbent article having a chassis having a chassis layer with a chassis surface area, an elastic portion, a topsheet attached to the chassis, at least a portion of the topsheet being liquid permeable, and an absorbent material disposed between the topsheet and the chassis. The elastic portion has a first carrier layer with a first surface area, and an elastic layer attached to the first carrier layer and having an elastic layer surface area. The elastic layer is an elastic scrim.

We claim:  
     
         1 . An absorbent article, comprising: 
 a chassis having a chassis layer with a chassis surface area;    an elastic portion having 
 a first carrier layer with a first surface area, and  
 an elastic layer attached to the first carrier layer and having an elastic layer surface area;  
   a topsheet attached to the chassis, at least a portion of the topsheet being liquid permeable; and    an absorbent material disposed between the topsheet and the chassis,    wherein the elastic layer is an elastic scrim.    
     
     
         2 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic layer is unidirectionally elastic.  
     
     
         3 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic layer is bidirectionally elastic.  
     
     
         4 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic layer is elastic in more than two directions.  
     
     
         5 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic layer surface area is substantially equal to the chassis surface area.  
     
     
         6 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the elastic portion comprises a plurality of elastic portions, 
 each of the plurality of elastic portions having a surface area less than the chassis surface area.    
     
     
         7 . The absorbent article of  claim 6 , wherein a total surface area of the plurality of elastic portions is less than the chassis surface area.  
     
     
         8 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the chassis further comprises 
 a front waist region;    a back waist region; and    a crotch region located between the front and back waist regions such that when worn by a user the front and back waist regions form a loop around the user's waist.    
     
     
         9 . The absorbent article of  claim 8 , wherein the article is a pant style article.  
     
     
         10 . The absorbent article of  claim 9 , further comprising an irreversibly destructible connection that connects the front waist region to the back waist region.  
     
     
         11 . The absorbent article of  claim 8 , wherein the elastic portion comprises a first strip, 
 the first strip being located in one of the front waist region and the back waist region.    
     
     
         12 . The absorbent article of  claim 11 , wherein the elastic portion further comprises a second strip, 
 the second strip being located in one of the front waist region and the back waist region.    
     
     
         13 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the scrim is substantially completely bonded to one of the first and second chassis layers.  
     
     
         14 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the scrim is bonded to one of the first and second chassis layers only at predetermined portions of the scrim, the predetermined portions being less than the entire scrim.  
     
     
         15 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the scrim comprises 
 first scrim members having a first elasticity; and    second scrim members have a second elasticity different from the first elasticity.    
     
     
         16 . The absorbent article of  claim 15 , wherein the first and second scrim members are colinear.  
     
     
         17 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein the article is a pant style article.  
     
     
         18 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein one of the first and second chassis layers is a non-woven material.  
     
     
         19 . The absorbent article of  claim 1 , wherein elastic portion further comprises a second carrier layer with a second surface area.  
     
     
         20 . The absorbent article of  claim 19 , wherein the elastic layer is positioned between the first carrier layer and the second carrier layer.  
     
     
         21 . The absorbent article of  claim 20 , wherein the second surface area is substantially equal to the first surface area and the elastic layer surface area.  
     
     
         22 . A method of making an absorbent article, the method comprising: 
 feeding a chassis layer onto a surface;    feeding an elastic portion onto the chassis layer, the elastic portion comprising 
 a carrier layer, and  
 an elastic layer, the elastic layer being an elastic scrim;  
   bonding the elastic portion to the chassis layer;    applying an absorbent material to one of the chassis layer and the elastic portion; and    applying a topsheet to one of the chassis layer and the elastic portion such that the absorbent material is between the chassis layer and the top sheet.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the elastic portion has a surface area substantially equal to a surface area of the chassis layer.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim is unidirectionally elastic.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim is bidirectionally elastic.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim is elastic in more than two directions.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim is substantially completely bonded to the chassis layer.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim is bonded to one of the chassis layer only at predetermined portions of the scrim, the predetermined portions being less than the entire scrim.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 22 , wherein the scrim comprises 
 first scrim members having a first elasticity; and    second scrim members have a second elasticity different from the first elasticity.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the first and second scrim members are colinear.